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terbalik

A Malay loanword used in Manglish (Malaysian English) and Singlish (Singaporean English) meaning upside down, inverted, or the wrong way around.

t˭əˈbɑ˧.leʔ˦147 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
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#1·Apr 28, 2026

A Malay loanword used in Manglish (Malaysian English) and Singlish (Singaporean English) meaning upside down, inverted, or the wrong way around. It functions as a predicative adjective and is used naturally by Malay-English bilinguals to describe things that are reversed or flipped. It can also be used figuratively for situations that are topsy-turvy or back to front, often with a slightly exasperated tone.

You put the map terbalik again -- that's south at the top.
Origin: From Malay 'terbalik' (inverted, upside down); loanword used in Manglish and Singlish. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(Manglish, Singlish, predicative) ; inverted.

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